Dog Diapers – Do They Work?

Since Atlas is now in her third heat cycle, I have found that dog diapers can be difficult to find. Once you do find them, they don’t always work the way you expect them to. In the very beginning, I started looking online for the best diapers. One company had one that wrapped up and around the body of the dog. I ordered one of these and found out it was on back order. For 6 months.

Knowing your dog is going into heat soon, 6 months simply didn’t work for me. If you have a dog that has incontinence issues, this isn’t going to work for you either. So, my search continued after canceling that order.

I started digging more online, at Amazon, Petco, PetSmart, etc. All these companies had dog diapers, but many got really bad ratings. Then of course, it happened. Atlas went into heat and started bleeding everywhere.

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Female Dogs Bleed During Heat.

If you have a female dog that hasn’t been fixed, then you probably already know it’s a mess. However, if you’re new to having a female that’s not fixed, then you’re in for a treat. Small dogs don’t bleed much, a spot here and there. Big dogs though, they bleed!

While Atlas was walking around in the living room, she was leaving bright red spots everywhere. I’m not talking about a spot or two, no, I’m talking a trail. The one company I tried to order from that had a 6-month waiting period wasn’t going to work. So, I had to start my search locally.

I grabbed an old towel and covered the back seat of my truck with it. Grabbing Atlas as well (I didn’t want the mess in the house) we drove in search of a diaper.

Finding A Dog Diaper.

During our search, we went to the first place we could think of. Petco. Always nice people as usual, they directed us to the dog diapers. Now, if you don’t know already, there’s two kinds, really. The disposable and non-disposable. There was a woman standing in the aisle with us and she said, “Don’t use the disposable. They suck.”

So, I grabbed the two-pack of the non-disposable. At first, I didn’t know Atlas’ size, so I grabbed Large at first. Then, taking it out of the package, I realized it was huge! I held it up to her and instantly knew that wasn’t going to work.

A nice young man came over and said I could try it on her. I didn’t want to mention that she was bleeding at the time. Though luckily, we had a break in that while in the store. I still didn’t want to put it on her, so I grabbed a Medium.

Holding this one up, it looked to be about right. I decided, okay, let’s try this. Bam! Perfect fit. So, I bought the pack at $19.99.

What I Got.

Here’s the thing with these diapers. They have a pad that’s supposed to be the absorbing pad. However, if you let the dog bleed in this thing, you’re going to have to wash it, a lot! So, I bought women’s pads to place inside the diaper as well. That’s my trick.

Women’s pads come in a variety of sizes, shapes, absorbency levels. Some even have wings! No, not for flying away though when we’re on our period, that’s exactly what we want to happen. I opted for no wings, super absorbency and longer than average.

The pads work wonders! Atlas didn’t even care she had a diaper on. Yay! Such a good dog. I found that I was very happy with my purchase….At first.

Three Cycles Later.

Here I am, writing and telling you about the story of her very first cycle. Now, three cycles later, I still have these diapers. I even had to buy another pack in the second cycle. You might ask me, “Why? Don’t they come with two?” Why yes, they do.

These diapers work, they do! IF you buy the pads to go in them. That’s key. But the Velcro! Ugh, the Velcro! I hate Velcro! It doesn’t stay.  They wear out and they suck.

I had to buy another pack because the damn Velcro wore off too fast in the first cycle. The diaper wouldn’t stay on. It would come right off. I noticed as I washed them (by hand of course) that the little hard plastic part of the Velcro would come off. All of a sudden, I started seeing all these little black things in the sink.

I realized it was part of the Velcro enclosure coming off the diaper! No!! What the heck? I was even very gentle with them. Why is this happening to me I thought? In her second cycle, the stupid thing kept falling off and she wasn’t doing anything. She was just standing there. Atlas would look down at it as it slid off, I’m sure thinking to herself, “Mommy, it came off.” She would then look up at me like I did it and patiently wait for me to put the thing back on her.

So, off to the store I went to buy another pack.

The Second Pack Of Dog Diapers.

I still have all four diapers, just so you know. I will say, the company must have done something different the second time around, because the Velcro is still holding. They look the same to me between the first pack and the second, honestly. But, here we are in her third cycle and the last two I bought are still holding up. Yay!

But, I had to take control. I still need the first two, but they suck. Still. I was hoping they would magically change from one heat to the next, but no, they still don’t hold. So, I turned to Amazon. I bought sew-on snap buttons. That’s right. I knew I would make them work, no matter how crappy their Velcro was.

So, a large pack of snap on buttons it is. I bought the large multi-pack. Came with like 50 buttons. Here’s what I did. I sewed these things on her diaper where they secure around her. This way, no more crappy Velcro. I simply snap it on her when she’s in heat now.

A $5 fix and voila, the diaper holds. Now, if the other pack starts to wear off, guess what? I have more snap buttons. Now, this is recent that I’ve done this, so I can’t attest how well they’re going to hold up. Sorry folks. But I will say, it works much better than the Velcro. So, in the meantime, I’m happy now.

The dog diapers are good, I will say. The Velcro portion is crap, but the diapers are good quality overall. So, if you’re looking for some, these work. Just order the snap buttons while you’re at it. Maybe the Velcro will hold up with this second pack, but I’m not risking that. Dog blood is pretty gross. I’d rather be on the safe side.

What diaper has worked best for you? Share your thoughts with the rest of us.